I do not own anything.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Devilish Life Pt.3
Reptiles…snakes…and of course it had to be in the middle of the night, and in a sudden rainstorm just for kicks. It was a picture perfect setting for a horror movie, one involving aquatic monsters, psychos, and mental torture. During movie night the DigiDestined would often joke about what they would do if they ever found themselves in a horror movie. Slasher flick, monster movie, ghost films, zombies, Jiangshi horror, and natural horror, they'd gone over what they'd do if by some twist they ever found themselves in such situations. Those nights seemed so innocent with time. The fortune telling on who would go first and if they could avoid the standard horror movie formula. Davis and T.K. had been optimistic about things, both promising in their own way to protect Kari. Naturally Cody was quick to point out such a decision was more than likely going to lead to both of them getting themselves killed. In Cody's words, "most likely in the most brutal way imaginable" to which Davis threw back his head in laughter. Yolei had snuggled up to Ken all but begging him to protect her if the horror movie ever happened. Still new to the concept of romantic affections Ken spent the entire night a flustering mess. Amongst all of it Kari kept her innocent giggle, their one beacon of light.
Examining their current situation Davis, Ken, and Yolei realized just how off beat their predictions were. Not to mention stupid.
The argument that could have been made was what they were experiencing wasn't a horror movie scenario but an action movie one, the big siege seen. As it turned out surviving during a siege was much more horrific and taxing than the movies had made it out to be. The second to second panic that fueled every motion of the body, the adrenaline pumping through them, the sweat collection on their brows, the speed at which their brains were working, and the sound of chaos around them. They weren't harden soldiers or seasoned cops, they were teenagers, kids really. Each of them had dreams they hoped they would one day turn into reality. Such things were what they should have been thinking about on a spring night. Instead of that they had formed a tight perimeter around the apartment complex in order to stave off the never ending tide of monsters that had emerged from the darkness.
It had started with oversized snakes making their way into the apartment through the plumping. Those things had been dealt with quickly enough however just as each reptile vanished they let loose a sharp hissing that sounded like laughter. The three DigiDestined knew all too well what that meant. Davis, Veemon, Ken, and Wormmon had rushed outside while Yolei hoarded her relatives into a single room with Shurimon standing guard. They could all feel what was coming in their bones. Less than five minutes later when the rain started and streets started flooding legions of overgrown snakes came, red DigiCode running up the entire length of their bodies. Some were as large as cars while others seemed to bare more resemblance to prehistoric serpents only seen in horror movies. Their violet roars shook the entire building sending all its occupants into mass hysteria. Like the instinctual beasts they were the vipers lunged at living thing in sight, snatching people out of their homes without remorse. A type of feeding frenzy if you will had spread through the digital monsters.
ExVeemon and Stingmon worked as quickly as they could. Laser blasts, stinger strikes, clawing, biting, and just flat out squeezing the life out of them. The serpents bit as deeply as they could into the flesh of the two Champions to no avail.
So caught up in the attacks none of them had stopped to notice the serious expression on their faces. Both of them growled, then their bodies seemed to exude an aura of pure power thus forcing the snakes off. If they weren't forced off they were outright obliterated by the pure amount of power. With great speed they jetted through the apartment, walls including, destroying everything they viewed as an enemy. Every time they exited the building it was with pray in hand; in ExVeemon's case a collection of serpents struggling in his arms and a few in his mouth and in Stingmon's case a handful skewered through his stingers. From a certain point of view they looked very much like the monsters the media had made them out to be-ferocious, inhuman beasts with the ability to destroy almost anything in their path.
Davis and Ken remained near the balcony keeping their eyes on their Digivices. No matter how many their partners destroyed more continued to show up on their radar.
"This isn't going to stop until we destroy the DigiPort sending these things is it?" Davis sneered preparing to call ExVeemon over to hitch a road. "I'm going to go find it and shut it down!"
"No Davis!" Ken screamed grabbing his friend's hand. "First off we don't know where the DigiPort is nor do we have the manpower to spare! For now all we can do is hold our ground here and wait until the onslaught slacks off! I know you're worried about the others but Yolei and her family need us here!"
The young goggle head wanted to slap himself for his foolishness. If he'd ran off on his own he would have left Ken and Yolei behind to defend a half-wrecked apartment building. There was no way they would have been able to hold it alone, hell, they were barely holding it now with ExVeemon with them. "I don't even know where Kari, Tai, and T.K. are." He realized miserably. What the hell was he supposed to do? Go flying through the rain blind as a bat?
It wouldn't be that out of character.
No, not at all. Truly your selfishness knows no bounds. Sacrificing the lives of the few and many for your own benefit.
Why not? It's not like the people you're protecting mean anything to you.
Wide-eyed for a brief moment Davis stared at the storm clouds before screaming as loud as he could. "SHUT UP!"
You can't fight it Davis. You might as well save yourself while you can.
"NO!" he shouted again.
"Davis! Davis! Davis! Who are you talking to?" Ken yelled trying to get a hold of Davis who was in nearly in hysterics.
It was the first time Ken had ever seen such a far flung fearful look in Davis's eyes. Even in the growing rain Ken was able to see Davis's shaking body. He was scared. Ken couldn't believe what he was seeing. Davis, strong, iron-willed Davis was shaking in his boots. Suddenly Ken felt like his legs were slowly liquefying. The air going into his body felt like it was through his nostrils and exiting through some invisible hole in his back. Ken's head started to spin leaving him off balance and disorientated. It was a miracle he hadn't fallen back and cracked his head on the balcony floor. The wind and rain felt twice as cold against his skin so it felt like he was being frozen alive in addition to having his insides sucked out. Not surprisingly he didn't like this feeling one bit.
Ken wanted to hide himself away in the darkness. The darkness had always been a safe place for him to hide away, it shielded him, protected him from all his problems. It made him feel safe. He needed to feel safe now. If he could have he would have pulled Wormmon, Davis, Yolei, and all the others in with him. They all would be safe there, peaceful waiting out the storm that was threatening to destroy them.
You can't run Ken, there's no escaping this one. Sorry but I'm afraid time's up.
Ken knew danger was close but he didn't expect it to strike so damn fast. A shadow swam before the boys' eyes, then the next thing they knew they were being flown through the open air. Their bodies screamed in pain like they'd never knew. On impact they were coughing up blood and rolling through the water. The blue haired genius knew they both must have had a broken rib or two form the attack, maybe it was worse.
"Davis!" he called shakenly getting to his feet. "Davis are you alright?"
He felt something slithery wrap around his legs just as it seemed his vision was returning to normal. With a yelp he was sailing through the air again. Two seconds later and Ken's entire back exploded with pain. Blood sipped through his clenched teeth. It felt like his back had been shattered with a sledge hammer. Before he could ponder what had happened he was moving again, already he knew what was coming.
THUNK! THUNK! SMACK! SMACK! THUNK! CING!
His arms, legs, ribs, and backside all hurt form the repeated bashing he estimated to have lasted for maybe six minutes straight. Or was it eight? Ken had lost track somewhere down the line' he needed to focus on keeping himself form blacking out. He could still move his hand though doing so hurt more than he ever thought it would. All he could do was groan while salt water seeped into him through his bloody lips and noise. Ken's desire to flee was now stronger than ever, if it meant avoiding this agony he'd run to the ends of the earth.
"HHHHHoooooooowwwwwww sssssaaaaaaadddd."
Ken groaned again.
He was hanging upside down like a rag doll eye to eye with a disturbingly large serpent that could put an anaconda to shame. Merciless red eyes stared back at him through glassy orbs. Blood dripped from the red stained fangs protruding from its mouth. "TTTTTTThhhhhheeeee oooonnnccce mmmighty Diiiiigggimooon Emmmmperor…reduceeeeed ttttoooo this."
Whatever Ken had managed to say came out through an inaudible groan. To his anger the snake seemed to find amusement in this.
"TTTTThhhhheeee mmmmiiiiiggggghhhhtttyy sure can fall hhhhhaarrd can't they?" The voice of the serpent chuckled. Even though its mouth wasn't moving Ken was able to hear the words clear as day. If his body wasn't already numb from the beating it would be with the arctic fear the voice had installed in him. In no way did it sound human or compassionate; just hearing it drudged up memories he'd done his best to forget. It didn't take much for him to realize whoever or whatever this creature was obviously took great enjoyment in his pain. It almost reminded him of his own voice during his days as the Digimon Emperor. "IIIIII wwwwwoooonnnn'tttt draaaggg this out and ssssaaay I'm here aaaasss a messenger of justice. Makkkeeeee nnnnoooommmmistttake thhhhis is not divine punniiiissshment." For once the snake opened its jaw to laugh, a horrifying sound that sounded like ice forming and breaking at once. "AAAAAAttttttt leeeeeaaaaassst not in the name of that fall god you huuuummmmaaaannns blindly worship. NNNNNNNNNoooooootttt thaaaat god tttttthhhhaaat you prayyyyyed to for forgiveness. HHHhhhooooneeessstly, whaaaaaatttt is there to forgive?"
"Too much." Was the first thing Ken managed to wheeze out much to his shame. "T-Too much to pray for."
Now throwing back its head in raw laughter the snake submerged Ken in water. His hands tried to pry open the vice like tail wrapped around his neck. Between the water rushing into his nostrils and the tail slowly crushing his neck he didn't know what to do. His first instinct was to call for Stingmon and Davis and ExVeemon, expect he needed air for that. The leathery skin of the monster attempting to choke and drown him felt like iron and trying to rip it off was the same picking up glass shards with his bare heads. In his mind the dark corners began to grow causing Ken's heart to thunder. It pumped blood into his muscles in a desperate attempt to survive.
It's too late for that. You brought yourself to this position in life so don't go crying to the others.
Suddenly the smell of fresh air fresh air invaded his lungs in a storm surge he couldn't have been more grateful for. It lasted for maybe thirty seconds before he was back in the water again. Strength returned to his hands again causing him to push up from up from the ground he was being pressed faced into. Actually one hand was pushing up and the other was trying to unwrap the vice grip the tail on his neck. He pushed and pulled for a full minute before he was yanked out of the water again. For the briefest moment he caught a glimpse of the sky in all its nighttime fury. Lightning splitting black thunder clouds thus illuminating the heavens. Dozens of shapes danced between the onyx black masses. Ken was too far away and too dazed to care what they were or even attempt to make them out.
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
The withered, soaked mass of flesh that was Ken Ichijouji hung limply in the serpent's grasp, all the fight having been thoroughly beaten out of him. His glass eyes stared at the beast like a broken record that was stuck repeated the same song. By all sounds he'd passed out from the nonstop pain and shock. "DDDDDDDoooooo nnnnnoooot ffffeeeeaaaar Kennnnnn. KKKKKKNnnnnnnoooowwww thhhat I will be the one to end it for you. Thhhhh sufffferrring you've lived with, ssssoooooonnn it wwwiiilll alllll come to an end." Giving one last hiss the digital beast began to tighten its grip on Ken's neck. "EEEEEmmmmmbbbrrraceee the darknnneesss that follows. It is aaaaaffffeeer allll wwwhhhat you've longed for."
That was true. For months the thought of returning to the darkness had been sitting in the back of Ken's mind. He'd never considered it though because he'd held onto hope that this crisis wouldn't escalate into a tragedy of this magnitude. When the nightmares started he was a little scared. When Jun was kidnapped he came worried. When the Control Spires began appearing in mass was when he became well and truly terrified. What was going to happen to Yolei if he couldn't stop this mess? To Davis and all the others? Those questions had been answered in his dreams; he saw their homes burning and their families dying at their feet. All of it because of a horror he unleashed when he dawned the visor and cape of the Digimon Emperor. All of this started when he toyed with powers he couldn't hope to understand and now those powers wanted to end him and everything he loved. In a sick way he saw the irony of it. What this beast currently strangling him was one of the monsters he'd thought he'd had control of. At his core he'd begun to feel like a little kid playing around with fire only to end up getting burned. Worse, he couldn't go cry to his mother and father because they had been hurt as a result of his actions.
He hadn't just gotten burnt like everyone warned him he would, he'd burned the entire neighborhood down.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please…just make the pain go away." The DigiDestined pleaded feeling the darkness envelop him. "If anyone can help please…I'm begging you."
Davis was awoken to the chorus of dying hisses and earth being broken under foot. A familiar cracking sound jolted him away and sent all the remaining strength into his legs. Without a moment's hesitation he scrambled away, looking form side to side for something he could use as a weapon. Strike that he wanted someplace he could hide. As shameful as it was that was all he could think about doing with the cracking growing closer by the second. Looking up into the rainy sky he called for ExVeemon only to be greeted by silence.
BOOM!
The explosion of air made Davis's teeth rattle. A tremor went up his legs then back down again nearly bringing him to his knees. "What the hell was that?" he whispered already having a feeling something really bad was going to happen. He noticed the cold rain against his skin had all but stopped giving him cause to gaze up. Rays of moonlight pieced the darken clouds that began to pull away rendering Davis's voice silent. With baited breath he watched the storm clouds pull back to reveal an ominous full moon he could have sworn was slowly becoming stained red. Something about the light both enticed and petrified him. "First a rainstorm out of nowhere and now this? What kind of freak storm system in Dagomon making?"
BANG! SCCCCRRREEEEEEECCCCCCHHHH!
"His last…just as this is your last breath Davis Motomiya."
"No…no…no! No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"
Every step towards him was a pound against the soaked concrete beneath the water. The crimson liquid seeping from the stone body was acid that boiled the water breaking it down just a little more with each step. Somehow the cracks they left in the ground seemed to suck up the water that had rapidly been flooding ground. From their hands and weapons were dissolving corpses of the digital snakes that had begun infesting the apartment.
Stopping in front of Davis the stone angel regarded him with its cold eyes like he was a bug it'd come across by accident. One it wouldn't think about squashing. "We told you death would follow you everyone."
"The hell are you talking about?" Davis shouted with the last bits of his bravado.
Rather than answer him the statue pointed at the surrounding area. With the rain and wind gone the apartment scenery was revealed in full detail. Since the serpents left no remains save for lingering data clouds there wasn't any way to tell how many they'd destroyed. How many humans had been killed however was very much obvious. In simplest terms it looked like a giant feeding frenzy had been suddenly interrupted. Half eaten and mutilated bodies lay all over the parking lot, some of them were still twitching based solely on nerve reflex. For the first time it became clear just how red the water being drained back into the earth was. Blood was forming into rivers in all directions; it even flowed between Davis's feet.
With a trembling hand the fourteen year-old reached up to his face to feel the crimson liquid washing off. How hadn't he noticed?
"Now do you see the carnage you invite when you provoke beasts whose power you could never hope to match?" The statue stated stopping eleven feet from the boy's stunned form. "Knowing this you shouldn't be surprised by what happens next."
THUNK!
Eyes nailed shut Davis screamed the entire ten yards he sent from the statue's punch. His back collided with the side of a car setting off the alarm. Between the pain in his gut and the loud honking of the car he was convinced he was now sure beyond a doubt he was screwed. "Wh-Wh…at…t…the hell…are you things?" Reaching into his pocket for his Digivice he held it up so he could get a beat on the statue. He refused to believe this monster could be anything other than a Digimon, it had to be. To his surprise it stood there while he tried to get a beat on it. After a few minutes of tense silence he finally found the file he needed.
Name: LithoRosemon
Level: None
Attribute: Virus
Description: Very little information in known about LithoRosemon as very few have lived to have it recorded. Some say they were crafted thousands of years ago during The Fall by wicked and evil sorcerers. This hypothesis is supported by the proven fact they only appear in areas that have mass concentrations of death and misery. Needless to say this makes any appearance by them a sign of coming tragedy. Exactly what lies beneath their stone façade isn't known, mostly because their Lamination of Roses and Rimbauer Exchange attacks have killed anyone who tried to figure it out.
The blood soaked hands ruthlessly yanked Davis up only to hurl him across the ground again. A heavy foot smacked against his rib-cage just like in his dreams, complete with all the pain he kept telling himself wasn't real. This time it was.
The water had drained away to the point where it was no more than ankle level at least leaving Davis some air to breathe. The problem was he was having a hard time with that due to his bruised body. With a stone foot keeping him pressed to the ground it took everything he had just to keep breathing.
"If…you're going to…kill me…hurry…up…and do!"
"Why would I do that?" the LithoRosemon questioned with a cocked head. "The point of this isn't to kill you but to make you suffer. Death is too quick and painless for the sins you have committed, didn't anyone ever explain the idea of punishment to you?"
"Yeah," Davis wheezed keeping his Digivice clutched in his hand like his life depended on it. A blinking blue light had consumed the entire screen; every second or so he glanced at it noting the position of a blinking bright blue dot moving across the street. "When I was a kid whatever I broke something like my mom's favorite vase she took away all my toys or I wouldn't get ice cream for dessert after dinner. Trust me you bitch, I know what punishment is."
If the Digimon found his joke amusing she didn't say. What she did do was take her foot off of Davis's back only to left him up by the arm. Calmly she touched his left side with a signal hand. Her cold fingers easily bypassed his soaked t-shirt and froze his skin on contact.
Immediately after getting a feel for a rib or two she pressed down with the lightest of force.
CRACK!
"AAAAHHHH!"
Valére wished he'd brought something to drink with him while the battle of Shinjuku erupted right before his eyes. It made him giddy that all of it had been set into motion by his hand, the chaos and bloodshed. All he'd done was say yes to one little deal and a whole new world of possibilities had been opened up to him. The best part was everything in it was his for the taking, and this time there were no laws or constrictions stopping him. Apparently his father had been right about another thing-patient men are always rewarded their just due. Valére's wait had paid off in what of the most extravagant ways imaginable. For that simply reason he had a Boogiemon filming the entire battle; in the coming years it would be fun to look back on it.
Though it had taken more time than they wanted to give Mephistomon had been able to blow away that irritating storm leaving them with absolutely visibility and the people of Shinjuku a clear view of their future. The panic had come instantaneously when the mist pulled back to reveal the Daemon Corps flyers moving through the black sky. The addition of the full moon was simply nature tipping its hat to them. Shinjuku Station was gone, its insides had flooded up immediately thanks to Dagomon's forces. Destroying the station hadn't been what Valére wanted but they had to deny their enemy that foothold. Their heavy hitters had completely demolished the train station, burying every living thing beneath hundreds of tons of rumble in addition to placing a dimension seal over the place. What might have been a decent invasion point was now nothing but a giant tomb he'd have to rebuild once victory was theirs. With the DigiPorts they'd opened they wouldn't be needing the Yamanote Line anyway.
It had been a busy night at Bic Camera before the attack began. Apparently the populace hadn't been able to piece together the connection between the programming problems plaguing the world and the appearance of the Digimon. Maybe the governments had and wanted to keep it a secret, but that point was now mute. The entire building had become nothing but a giant DigiPort once their virus began infecting the thousands of computer systems Bic Camera housed. Five minutes after the virus had opened the gate the Odakyu Halc Building was nothing but a memory. The Frenchman had never seen quite a big explosion as that since Barbamon gave him a demonstration of his power.
As predicted the explosion had drawn the attention of Dagomon's forces. He wasn't stupid, he'd sent a considerable force to shut the DigiPort down. Sadly he had no idea what was coming out of it. Now a hordes of Ghoulmon were blasting Shinjuku apart with such terrifying ease.
Seeing the hundreds of aerial born demons under his command filled Valére with a high he never knew existed. He gave the order and the rain of destruction had begun. He held the lives of millions of people in his hand.
It was better than anything he'd ever experienced in his life-sex, drugs, wine, murder, what he was feeling topped it all.
A part of him wanted to find the nearest outlet, plug his Digivice in and project his face to the entire populace. Let everyone see the face of the man who held their lives in his well born hands. The ransom he could collect…he'd be able to buy countries with it. Alas he that wasn't his mission. What he wanted were the crests of the DigiDestined, that and their DigiEggs. Such rare treasures countless others had failed in acquiring.
He remembered sitting in one spot reading through hundreds of ancient texts and murals. It stung his eyes to read how close some had come to holding them in their grasps only to fail. In the end Valére found himself laughing. "Well I'm not them." He whispered quietly to himself. "Unlike those idiots I'm not going to fail, I'm going to hold those treasures in my own hands. First on the list…Kindness and Courage."
Okubo Hospital had seen better days. Dagomon's troops had clashed with Daemon's own men. The battle wasn't going as well as he'd suspected because the aquatic beasts were putting up one hell of a fight. Valére found it admirable but it displeased him. "If they've gone their hands on The Motomiyas or the Ichijoujis then we've got a serious problem. We need at least one of them to in order to get Ken to submit. And that's if they haven't been killed already." He despised walking this tight roped lines where he had to place his faith in someone else. If Chiyo had done her job properly than they wouldn't be needing to tear up one of his favorite cities in the world. At least she was making up for it by giving them Kabukichō. Craning his head to the west he saw the towers of smoke and sin energy rising up to the black sky. A mass of swirling black clouds were forming above the Red Light District signaling the birth of their second Control Spire in Shinjuku. "So she can be useful. I'm sorry Chiyo but I'm afraid I'm going to have to break your little boyfriend just a tad bit more."
Commanding his Ghoulmon to lower itself down, a move that some would have called unwise given how intense the battle was. Stepping down on the skyscraper overlooking the hospital he watched with his enhanced vision how Daemon's rage-filled warriors smashed against the wall that was dozens of marine and virus infected Digimon. A quarter of them were self-destructing in order to halt the advancement of the flame clad warriors. The tactic was proving surprisingly well.
Something darted through the hallways, through the battle lines and out the door. That shadow moved through each individual battle until it was standing behind him.
"What about the Ichijojis?" he questioned the Matadormon kneeling at his feet.
Placing the two unconscious adults at his human master's feet the Nightmare Soldier bowed. "I'm afraid we weren't able to stop Dagomon's men from taking them. We're currently doing everything in our power to get them back."
"Do what you must just make sure we have them alive." Valére ordered spinning on his heel. "What of the other targets?"
"We've captured Fumiko Hida as well as Chikara Hida. As we speak we're collecting the Inoue family along with Ken Ichijoji and Davis Motomiya. Unfortunately Dagomon seems to have gotten his tentacles on the Kamiyas and T.K. Ishida." The Matadormon explained. "We're being hard pressed to get to the other parents."
"Well what we have should be enough to get Ken on his knees. We have to push the Deep Ones back before they takes Ken from us just as we have to eliminate Kari before he can…" In a rare display of sympathy Valére shivered with fear at the thought of the Bearer of Light falling into the Deprived Monk's hands. "Just do the poor girl a favor and put her out of her misery, same thing with T.K. Oh and please do bring me their crests when you're finished."
"It will be done Lord Valére." He said before disappearing with the parents in each hand.
Alone Valére leaned back against the railing while running hand over his dark hair. His laughter was a toxic sound that went hand in hand with the blood soaked screaming rising around him. "Oh this really is the best. You guys just keep on fighting, do your future master a favor and give it all you've got. It makes the show that much more entertaining." In terms of shape the Digivices used by the Seven Dead Demon's Chosen were alike, same basic design more or less. Whereas the DigiDestined's were "heroic" theirs were shaped like demonic skulls with their colors corresponding to their auras. In Valére's case his was purple marking his association with greed. Chiyo's was blue like the sea signifying her envy of others. He'd seen all the other Digivices lined up and waiting for their owners to claim them. The red one of particular had been pulsating a great deal as of late. With a holographic map pulled up Valére had a VIP view of the carnage through the eyes of the Ghoulmon. "Sorry Sora but if you're crossed off we'll be a step closer to winning, plus the Crest of Love is simply too much for me to pass up at this point." With a few motions of his fingers he'd given a handful of Ghoulmon their next target. "Joe and Mimi seem to be holding their own, imagine that. Ohhhh, no, no. Mm, maybe I'll let Yigmon have you Ishida brothers…if the Daemon Corps can't do it." At last his malicious eyes fell Davis and Ken struggling to protect the Inoue family. Yolei and Shurimon were held up inside the apartment doing their best to defend it while the boys ran guard. A crimson flash ran through Valére's eyes upon catching a flash frame of Davis. "You'll be thanking me for this later Chiyo."
A minute later and the Advent of Greed was riding a Ghoulmon towards the Oakwood Apartments, calmly stroking the loaded rifle slung over his shoulder.
It was plain to see they were going to need MetalGarurumon if they hoped to have chance at saving T.K. and Patamon. The problem was Yigmon was very much aware of that and was doing his utmost to prevent Garurumon from Digivolving. Or at least Matt and Garurumon wished that were the case; the truth was the snake god was barely using twenty percent of his power to hold them at bay. He was too slippery to catch, and if he allowed himself to be snared in Garurumon's jaws then he broke free with minimum effort. Yigmon never counterattacked beyond deflecting Garurumon's charges to the side.
It burned both human and Digimon to the core to know their enemy was simply toying with them.
Directly behind them was a swirling mass that contained T.K. and Patamon, both of them out cold. Maybe it was a good thing they were for their reactions to finding themselves trapped inside a cage made of digital snakes wasn't hard to imagine. That was another problem- every attack on the cage was countered by a shield of black water that seemed to be summoned at Yigmon's mental command. The trick wasn't breaking through the shield but getting past it before it could be raised. That meant finding some way to stun Yigmon, a fit Matt and Garurumon were having a difficult time doing.
Of course Yigmon had already figured out all of this, it was why he was so calm even when Garurumon Digivolved into WereGarurumon for another boost in power. "WWWWWooooouuulllddd it help if I ffffoooougght with mmyyyyy eeeyes closed?" he offered drily.
"Just shup up and wait for us to skin you alive you freak." Matt growled from his place behind his partner.
"Ammmmuuussing boast Matt Issssshhiidaa, but I'm afraid the ooooonnnly ssskk-!" The merciless eyes behind the cobra hooded cowl enlarged to the size of dinner plates. In a swift motion Yigmon dived beneath the water with a resounding splash.
Sensing the incoming danger WereGarurumon grabbed Matt and bolted from the area. He could smell the viral stench of their guests.
"Death Arrow."
"Sin Stain" thundered a chorus of bear tone voices that sounded like growls all together.
Red energy beams split the water and earth apart in the blink of an eye. Explosions kicked up water and concrete left and right. Fireballs quickly joined the barrage of fire coming down on the street leaving it a broken up scorched stretch of ground. The water had completely vanished in the searing fissures the attacks had left. Countless scores of Yigmon's "children" were being pulled in and swallowed up by those same fissures. Helpless all they could do was give shrieking death cries before they disappeared into the fiery darkness. In accordance with the ground shaking stomps the fissures seemed to grow spewing red hot flames all over the place. The embers caused almost anything they touched catch fire, including stone. From the flames came an unbearable heat that turned the cool night air into a roaring inferno.
Stomping their way through the flames came a group of Digimon neither Matt nor WereGarurumon had ever seen before. They'd seen variations of this Digimon before but this was something new.
Their bodies bore the classic colors of the Devimon line in addition to blazing red and orange that flowed from them into the hellfire rolling off their bodies. Unlike the other incarnations of Devimon their bodies were clad in spiky, bulky armor that gleamed with dark beauty. It might have been possible to confuse the horned devil shaped helmets as just that, head gear, until a closer look revealed they seemed to be fused with the very skulls of the monsters. For a set few the tips of their horns burned red like the ends of torches. In their hands were wide ranges of weapons from medieval broadswords and maces to hulking cannons that looked like they'd been carved from volcanic rock. Even the barrels of the cannons ended in screaming demon faces. Their weapons were either pieces of metal cloaked in roaring flames or glowed red or black with unholy energy that caused the very air around them to crackle with power. Though the size of each of them varied a little all of the demonic knights stood well above six feet tall, some going as high as ten. The ten-footers were the ones carrying the heaviest weapons such as broadswords, war axes, hammers, and portable battle cannons.
The war squadron halted in their tracks once they came before WereGarurumon and Yigmon. One of the leading knights stepped out of line while drawing his broadsword. He stopped and pointed it at Yigmon first. "Sear the flesh from his bones, Lord Daemon commands it." Next he turned the flaming tool on WereGarurumon. "Remove their heads from their bodies, leave them recognizable." He kicked off his heels in their direction with his sword raised high for a helm splitter.
WereGarurumon reacted at the last second; back flipping away just as he felt the heat of the sword began to sear his protective fur. In a flash the knight was on him again with his sword heading for his neck. He ducked only to receive powerful jab to the gut that knocked some of the air out of him. Quickly moving on from the werewolf the knight moved in on his defenseless partner.
To his credit Matt was able to roll out of the way of the first swing that should have bisected him at the waist. The second swing was a little close, nearly costing him his left arm. Matt thought he was safe for a moment until he saw a flash of red metal stretch across his left side rib cage. Within next the next ten seconds he felt his entire left side explode into a world of burning pain and agony. First off he knew he was bleeding, second he was probably burned too, and lastly if he estimates were right he was pretty sure he was going into shock. Before his back hit the ground his hands were reaching towards the wound; the blood not surprisingly was fresh and warm from the knight's attack. Briefly he wondered if he was going to need stitches for it.
Above him the knight raised his sword with the tip posed to enter his body in the middle of his chest. It would have if WereGarurumon hadn't dive kicked the knight away. A loud gasp left the demonic knight, WereGaurumon kept up the attack with two more kicks and ended it with a roundhouse kick that sent the demon sprawling across the ground. Instantly his concern went to his partner who was still clenching his wounded side.
"This…problem goes without saying but…avoid the sword." The dirty blond wheezed. "Those things really hurt like hell."
"Noted." WereGarurumon snarled removing one of his belts in order to use it to keep pressure on the wound. "I gotta get you out of here."
"N…Not before we save T.K." he responded holding up his Digivice.
Name: DeviKnightmon
Level: None
Attribute: Virus
Description: The demonic foot soldiers that form the bedrock of the armies of the Seven Deadly Demons. Once they may have been noble knights who stood for truth and justice or so innocent adventurer, but now they are merciless killing machines at the Demon Lords' beck and call. Each lord controls a certain number of legions who they identify with based on the symbol they wear into battle. In days long past they leveled villages with their Demon's Call, Sin Stain, and Dreads of Hell attack. On the note of that last one it's a good idea not to let ten of them gang up on you, you won't live to regret it.
As expected Yigmon had very little trouble dealing with the viral knights. The disintegrating bodies of several lay motionless at his feet while he calmly choked the life out of two others. "Here I was beginning to wonder when you bucket headed buffoons would be making an appearance. Your masssssssters have already unleashed the Ghoulmon so I'd assume they've begun gathering their actualllllllly foot soldiers, a pity you're a little late to the party." His red eyes ominous glowed before he lifted his head back to howl at the sky. "Venom Rain!"
High above their heads black clouds began to gather then quickly began dispersing sickly green liquid that melted anything it touched. Instantly the combatants released they were being pelted with acid rain, strong acid rain at that.
"Best of luck finding shelter from this! This acid is produced from my own venom, venom that is strong enough to eat through a Machinedramon's Chrome Digizoid body!" Yigmon laughed. "Daaaanncceee DeviKnightmon! Dance for your lives! You as well Wolf Boy! GGGGGGiiiivveee mmeee a show before I mus-AAAHHH!"
Matt and WereGarurumon learned a rather disturbing fact about the DeviKnightmon as they took shelter from the rain: they didn't seem to care much about their own lives. Two rows of gunners and cannon wielders formed up in the middle of the rain to bombard Yigmon with fireballs and energy blasts that shook the earth itself. The firing line was doing damage to the snake god as evident by his continued screams of pain. Maybe it was the construction of their weapons or the fact they were being fueled by the sinful energy washing over the city; whatever the reason was it was clear Yigmon was going to be in for a tougher fight than he thought.
Unfortunately his Venom Rain attack was still going strong forcing WereGarurumon to cover Matt while the two sought cover. Though he did his best to keep it down every drop stung enough for WereGarurumon to feel like he'd been shot with a bullet. This sound was pure torture to his partner who was still holding his wounded side.
From the bottom of his heart Matt hated this night. First his home was invaded, then he'd almost been strangled to death by a snake, his little brother kidnapped, when he goes to get him he has to go through an overgrown anaconda and a squad of demon knights straight from some RPG, and now he had to listen to his partner risk his life to protect him. All these things he'd tried to avoid only for it all to be for naught. To add salt into the wound there was nothing he could do about any of it.
"Don't think that way." A gruff voice cut through the teenager's self-loathing. With teary eyes he looked up to find WereGarurumon smiling at him through the unimaginable pain eating away at him. "If you keep thinking like that you're going to attract the wrong kind of attention. Don't think about how we got to this point Matt, think about how we're going to get out of it. You have my word-gah!" a beam of fire half seared his shoulder forcing him to stop. Setting Matt down he turned to face three DeviKnightmon, one of them holding the fire cannon that had seared his shoulder. "No matter what happens I'm going to get T.K. and Patamon back. I promise."
The rocker felt like a boulder had formed in his stomact. "When the hell did this happen to me? How many times am I going to keep making other people pay for my mistakes? When is it going to stop?" He balled his hands into tight fists at the thought of his partner being deleted just because he wasn't strong enough to protect his family. "That's always been the problem right? Someone else always had to give me that kick in the ass to get myself moving. My dad's had to do it, Ta, Gabumon, Sora, Joe…when am I ever going to be strong enough to do it myself? What's stopping me!? What is it!?" Matt refused to believe it was fear holding him down. If it came to it he wasn't afraid give his life for the people he loved. If that was covered then what else was there left?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Behind the three knights Yigmon was howling and cursing the DeviKnightmon for restraining him. In their hands weren't combat cannons but what looked like grappling guns. Several chains had been impaled in Yigmon's serpent body holing him in place until he broke free of them. T.K. and Patamon were somewhere within the Mega's slithering body. If they didn't get to them then…
"No…I'm not going to let that happen." "WereGarurumon," the dirty blond began catching his partner's eye. "We're going all the way through."
WereGarurumon liked the look in his eyes. It was the resolute light Matt always possessed when he set his mind on something. Specifically when it involved his loved ones was when the light was at its strongest. "Hold on tight." He asked allowing him onto his injured back. The pain wasn't a problem; if he focused his mind it seemed to just fade away completely leaving him with a clear view of the three Nightmare Soldiers before him. "Yigmon can't keep the rain up for much longer, maybe another forty seconds at most." WereGarurumon thought holding both his claws behind him. "Thirty meters between us and T.K. and Patamon. I can cover that in fifteen seconds…give or take." The Ultimate concluded with a grimace.
The eyes of the cannon wielding DeviKnightmon flashed followed by the eyes of his two associates. "Sin Stain!"
Their flaming attacks were launched just as WereGarurumon sprinted down the street. With his bullet time like vision he managed to avoid the fire blast and the fire slashes. Almost as soon as he'd kicked off he saw the three DeviKnightmon within arms' reach.
The three knights looked surprise that the injured werewolf was still moving at such speed. "Drea-"
"WOLF CLAW!"
SSSSSLLLLLLLIIIIIIISSSSHHH!
It took all of Joe's strength to get his message into his Digivice then hit the send button to make sure the others got it. Even if it cost him his life he had to get the word out so they could coordinate themselves. "Coordinate ourselves? Against that? Yeah, like my little text is going to do the job." Above him multi-colored streams of light flowed through the ebony sky. He didn't need a map to tell they were heading towards the Control Spire in the Red Light District. Joe knew as much as they needed to destroy it they wouldn't be able to. On top of being out-manned they were outgunned too. "F-First w-we have to secure Kari, T.K., Ken, and Davis! Then we can worry about that! Provided any of us are in any condition to worry!"
The feeling of one's body slowly being broken apart was a horrifying yet at the same time enlightening experience for Joe. His mind was doing all it could just to keep from shutting down from the pain as his body had done. If he lost the battle he knew he was going to die. Making out Zudomon just a few feet away he could tell his partner was fighting the same battle. Zudomon's huge body was just one of the many shapes he was able to discern amongst the blurs dancing between his clouded vision. It went without saying his reinforced glasses had shattered, luckily he had just enough time to throw them off before the glass shards impaled his eyes. He saw Sangloupmon bounding around the area sinking their claws into whatever or whoever they could get to. The dying and terrified screams of human and Digimon had blended into a chorus that would haunt Joe for years to come.
At first he couldn't tell when the sound wave ended until the sick laughter of Mephistomon. Rolling over Joe ended up creating a sizable puddle of blood and guts from his vomiting. Immediately his first thoughts were to make him pay for that but Joe knew all too well if he and Zudomon blindly rushed in they were going to end up getting themselves destroyed.
Name: Mephistomon
Level: Ultimate
Attribute: Virus
Description: An evil Digimon of near infinite malice and hatred it conceals behind a calm face. Anywhere Mephistomon appears is destined to become a land of corpses and despair. The call of his Black Sabbath attack is one of death that has not been heard a second time by any creature, and his Dark Cloud is a vision of decay that leaves nothing but a corpse behind.
The demonic beast floated down until his goat like hooves clacked against the wet concrete. "I must say this city is very impressive human. It's a pity you don't show its real face to the world. In my opinion it would certainly help tourism."
Zudomon wanted to flatten the annoying little prick but the overwhelming power he exhibited was enough to detour him. Besides beyond simply smashing him with his Thor's Hammer he didn't have a solid plan of attack. On top of that they were still surrounded by packs of Sangloupmon he couldn't let touch Joe. The situation was a no win unless back up was on its way which he severely doubted. "If you're going to kill us I'd like it better if you just got it over with." He sneered.
"Oh a feisty one." Mephistomon commented once he was at a far distance from Zudomon. "This city seems to have it all…skyscrapers, malls, restaurants of every kind, and electronics. There's something for everyone here in Shinjuku…especially for people like us." He concluded summoning a cloud of dark air into his hand. "Dark Cloud."
"Zudomon! Deflect it now!"
"On it! Vulcan's Hammer!"
The blast of jet black air was parted by the arrow shaped blast of thunder. The dark air was indeed parted leaving Joe and Zudomon unharmed but everything around them quickly began to decay. Not even the Sangloupmon who had begun running away were spared from the effects of the attack. Their death howls only added to the sorrow already consuming his heart.
"Do their deaths pain you Joe Kido?" Mephistomon asked from his place behind him. Just as swiftly as Joe turned around he found himself being lifted up by the demon. "Interesting, I was told you were a compassionate person but I didn't believe it stretched this far."
"I'm not exactly a fan of needless death in case you haven't heard." The blue haired teenager choked out clawing at the cold hand squeezing his throat. "People like you disgust me."
"People like me? Hahahahahaha! If that's the case then what I'm doing you is a favor." Mephistomon chuckled. "The world is filled with people like me, as a matter of fact they run it. Let me show you, Bl-" Without a shred of worry Mephistomon raised his other hand to block the wild haymaker Zudomon had lunged at him with. "You realize you could have struck your partner with that move yes?" Swiftly he beat his hand against Zudomon's palm resulting in an audible crack. Grabbing the bruised hand Mephistomon effortless swung the giant mammal into the nearest set of buildings. "Now where were we Joe," he said as his attention turned back to the panicky Joe.
"Well I was being kissing your hairy ass goodbye." He responded before lashing out with his fist.
A bluish-gray light shined from within Joe's clenched fist. Mephistomon only realized what the light was at the last second. His left eye practically combusted into blue flames along with the left side of his face. Crying in shocked pain he threw Joe away to cup his injured face in both his hands. As he was shouting he failed to take notice of the two seeker missiles heading for his backside. They impacted him instantaneously consuming him in a fireball.
"JOE!"
Bursting from the rubble Zudomon caught his partner in his uninjured hand. Looking down on him he laughed a little noticing he was close to having a seizure. "Never thought you'd come up with such a crazy ass plan, not that I didn't like it."
"Glad you did because if we want to take him down then you're going to have to get me up close again." He clarified trying to calm his racing heart. Clenched tightly in his head was his crest; the bright glow from before had dimmed but it was still there. "I don't know how good his sense of smell or sixth sense is but I know he's at least half blind right now. If we take out both eyes then he'll become reckless enough for us to take him down. After that we've got to get to Yolei's apartment." What he wasn't saying was he wanted all this done in a minute's time. Joe's own sixth sense was telling him something bad was happening at the Oakwood apartment. It wasn't a coincidence that two of their enemies' targets happened to be there. "If there's so much as a scratch on Yolei's head then Davis and Ken might as well have handed themselves over to the enemy. I can't rush things here but if I don't then God knows what's going to happen to them!" "The one bit of good news here is the Self Defense Force has arrived."
"Sure, arrived just in time to be our cannon fodder." Zudomon proclaimed much to Joe's chagrin. "Don't give me that look Joe. We both know we need the distraction."
As much as Joe hated to admit it his partner was right. On the ground he saw rows of tanks and APCs rolling down the street with legions of armed soldiers flacking them. The Sangloupmon and Matadormon emerged from their hiding places to do battle with the military forces. In retrospect though, battle might have been too kind to the human side. It was more of a slaughter. Wiping his eyes free of the building moisture Joe caught sight of Mephistomon Destroying two fighter planes with his Black Sabbath attack.
The lone red eye he had left locked heavily on him.
"That…was very unwise Joe. Before my original orders were to destroy your family but now I'd much rather destroy you myself. It doesn't matter, the end effect will still be the same."
The Ultimate's words peaked Joe's interest considerable. On his mental check list he marked one more thing off. "Whatever their plan is it involves killing us or our families. That'll be enough to drive us into despair which opens us open to Dagomon. Why would they do that? The only reason is they're willing to fork us over to Dagomon because they have something strong enough to deal with the aftermath. Something…no, someone strong enough to deal with the empowered Dagomon." "Mind giving me a little more info on this plan?" he called. "If I'm going to die then it shouldn't be a problem telling me."
"Oh no, no, my dead boy." Mephistomon shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that as it would spoil the fun." Two orbs of dark wind appeared in both his hands. "You're a smart one just like Izzy Izumi, I'm sure you two will be able to figure things out. Dark Cloud!"
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
The soldiers watching the clash were awe stuck by what they saw. Many of them didn't know why these monsters were fighting each other. Nobody in their ranks or overseas had much information on what the monsters were after or if any of them were friendly. That assumption had been made based on the undeniable footage of certain monsters defending the world. Dozens of kids had been spotted either riding the monsters or commanding them. Naturally this terrified and infuriated soldiers all over the world. Why were kids out there on the frontlines when it was their job to defend their country? That was the surface argument anyway. Deep down it was a general agreement that those monsters that seemed to fight off any that looked even remotely evil or demonic weren't to be fired on.
That was the case with Zudomon and Mephistomon. As members of the SDF detachment made war on the vampire like wolves and bladed fighters smashing into their line they kept an eye on the battle. Many of them were placing their hopes, and that of their families, on Zudomon coming out on top.
It isn't easy writing big spread out battles like this but it is pretty fun. Naturally some of these battles are going to start merging together but that'll be towards the end. If any of you are curious as to how all of this is going to end then please refer to Daemon and Barbamon's discussion in Chapter Twenty-Four. Not all the heavy hitters have been revolved for this battle so expect at least one new character to show up each chapter, good and evil. Next chapter's going to focus on Sora, Yolei, Izzy, and Kari since they haven't had much chance to shine. Oh and one of them will be having their partner Digivolve into the Mega level, which one is for you guess at : ) Along with that Chiyo's going to run into a nasty surprise that threatens turn the entire battle in Dagomon's favor. Sounds exciting huh?
Please Rate and Review! And have a Happy Valentine's Day readers!
